Installation at Montclair State amphitheater is open 24 hours a day

Alexandra Pais/For the Star-LedgerFelipe Henriquez interacts with a sound and light installation by Christopher Janney at the amphitheater at Montclair State University on Wednesday.

By Nic Corbett/For The Star-Ledger

The sounds of warbling birds, bamboo flutes, croaking frogs and marimba beats have begun to fill the air in the 1930s-era stone amphitheater at Montclair State University, creating an exotic jungle ambience for students taking a break.

The music comes from speakers installed in red columns on alternating steps of the amphitheater, in an interactive project titled “Everywhere is the Best Seat.” “Sound sculptor” Christopher Janney was commissioned to create the installation for the campus for the start of the school year. The effects, which include colorful lights, run on their own but can also be triggered by passers-by.

“It reminds me of a nice day, of nature,” said Kevin Clifford, a freshman majoring in mathematics, while sitting on one of the steps with a friend. “It creates a peaceful atmosphere.”

Janney, a 1973 Princeton University graduate whose background is in architecture and jazz, has created similar projects across the country with his multimedia studio PhenomenArts, incorporating electronic sounds and light in public spaces such as a New York subway station and a Miami airport.

He said he tries to promote the idea of art as a part of everyday life — an experience someone can have even on the way to work or class. That’s why the exhibit runs 24 hours a day until Nov. 14.

“I think that art should be accessible to people whenever they want to have that experience, whether it’s 10 o’clock in the morning or 2 o’clock in the morning,” Janney said.

Handprints on each of the columns in the amphitheater indicate sensors where you can wave your hand to turn on different sounds and lights, as if the installation were a musical instrument anyone can play.

“You can bring a group of friends, and it can act as a social foil and get people to interact in interesting ways,” Janney said.

Janney named the project after a quote from the composer John Cage: “Everything you do is music, and everywhere is the best seat.”

Tonight at 10, a free 60-minute concert called “Disembodied Instruments” will combine the electronic sounds of the installation with singing by two members of the a capella group the Persuasions, and music by several instrumentalists.

Janney will give a talk Oct. 12 at the university’s Alexander Kasser Theater after a 7 p.m. screening of a documentary about his performance piece “Heartbeat.” This event is also free, but requires advance reservations; call (973) 655-5112 or visit peakperfs.org. An exhibit of his work is on display in the lobby.

Peak Performances at Montclair State commissioned the installation with partial support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Janney said he started talking about the project to Jed Wheeler, executive director for arts and cultural programming at the Kasser Theater, two years ago. He and Wheeler had worked together previously in New York.

Jon Evers, a freshman studying music theory and composition, came to the amphitheater Wednesday afternoon for some sunshine. But he didn’t expect the show he found.

“This is better than sitting in a lunchroom indoors,” Evers said. “It does create a nice soundscape.”

Everywhere is the Best Seat
Where: Amphitheater at Montclair State University, Valley Road and Normal Avenue, Montclair
When: Through Nov. 14, 24 hours a day
How much: No admission charge. Visit peakperfs.org.